Method and system for data processing

• US 8,719,382 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2010
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Cooper, Jared Klineman, Brand, John, Goodermuth, Todd William, Nelson, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US12/969,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20120158910A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,237 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709225-229
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for processing data generated in a vehicle group. One example embodiment comprises evaluating one or more quality parameters of a first data set generated at a first vehicle in the vehicle group by a first data capture device, and based on the evaluation, off-boarding the first data set for storage purposes. Based on a link quality of a communication system of the vehicle group, the first data set may be off-boarded to a second vehicle in the vehicle group or to a remote storage device. In one example, if the quality parameter of the first data set is higher, the data may be stored on a second vehicle, while if the quality parameter of the first data set is lower, a second data set generated at the second vehicle by a second data capture device may be stored on the second vehicle.

Claims

1. A method of processing data in a vehicle group, comprising:

evaluating, with a control system, one or more quality parameters of a first data set generated at a first vehicle in the vehicle group, the one or more evaluated quality parameters indicating a level of quality of the first data set; and

based on the one or more evaluated quality parameters, selectively off-boarding the first data set for storage purposes, wherein the vehicle group includes a communication system configured to communicatively couple the first vehicle to other vehicles in the vehicle group, the communication system further configured to communicatively couple the vehicle group to a remote storage device, and wherein selectively off-boarding the first data set for storage purposes includes,

during a first condition, off-boarding the first data set from the first vehicle to a second vehicle in the vehicle group via the communication system, and

during a second condition, off-boarding the first data set from the first vehicle to the remote storage device via the communication system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication system is linked to a network, and wherein the first condition includes a link quality of the communication system being lower than a threshold, and wherein the second condition includes the link quality of the communication system being higher than the threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle is coupled together with the second vehicle in a train or a consist, and wherein off-boarding the first data set from the first vehicle to a second vehicle includes,

transmitting the first data set from the first vehicle to the second vehicle via the communication system;

receiving the transmitted first data set at the second vehicle; and

recording the transmitted first data set on the second vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein recording the transmitted first data set on the second vehicle includes not recording a second data set generated at the second vehicle of the vehicle group.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first data set includes audio and video data generated by a first data capture device of the first vehicle, and the second data set includes audio and video data generated by a second data capture device of the second vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively off-boarding the first set of data for storage purposes further comprises selectively off-boarding the first set of data to multiple vehicles for redundant storage.

7. A method of processing data, comprising:

generating a first data set on a first vehicle in a vehicle group with a first data capture device;

evaluating a quality parameter of the first data set with a controller by estimating a file size variation of the first data set and/or a frame variation of the first data set over a duration, and determining if the file size variation or the frame variation exceeds a parameter threshold, the quality parameter indicating a quality of the first set of data relative to a quality threshold; and

based on the evaluation, off-boarding the first data set for storage purposes.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the duration is based at least in part on an operating parameter of the vehicle group.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the operating parameter includes vehicle speed.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the quality parameter of the first data set is evaluated at the first vehicle, and wherein off-boarding the first data set based on the evaluation includes,

if the quality parameter of the first data set is higher than the quality threshold, transmitting the first data set from the first vehicle to a second vehicle of the vehicle group over a communication system of the vehicle group, and storing the transmitted first data set on the second vehicle;

and

if the quality parameter of the first data set is lower than the quality threshold, not transmitting the first data set from the first vehicle.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising,

transmitting the first data set from the first vehicle over a communication system of the vehicle group;

and

receiving the transmitted first data set at a second vehicle of the vehicle group, wherein evaluating the quality parameter of the first data set includes evaluating the quality parameter of the first data set at the second vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein off-boarding the first data set based on the evaluation includes,

if the quality parameter of the first data set evaluated at the second vehicle is higher than the quality threshold, storing the first data set on the second vehicle;

and

if the quality parameter of the first data set evaluated at the second vehicle is lower than the quality threshold, not storing the first data set on the second vehicle.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising, generating a second data set on the second vehicle, and if the quality parameter of the first data set is lower than the threshold, storing the second data set on the second vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first vehicle is coupled to the second vehicle in a train or a consist, and wherein the first data set is generated by a first data capture device of the first vehicle, and wherein the second data set is generated by a second data capture device of the second vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the first data set and second data set include audio and video data.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first vehicle includes a first video unit and the second vehicle includes a second video unit, and wherein storing the first data set on the second vehicle includes recording the first data set on the second video unit of the second vehicle, and wherein storing the second data set on the second vehicle includes recording the second data set on the second video unit of the second vehicle.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising, storing the first data set on the first video unit of the first vehicle.

18. The method of claim 7, wherein off-boarding the first data set for storage purposes further comprises selectively off-boarding the first set of data to multiple vehicles for redundant storage.

19. A system, comprising:

a first data capture device associated with a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles coupled together in a train or a consist;

a first controller coupled to the first data capture device for initiating transmission of data captured by the first data capture device off-board the first vehicle to a data storage device; and

a second controller coupled to the data storage device, the second controller having non-transitory code operable to;

receive the transmitted data;

evaluate a quality parameter of the transmitted data;

determine a level of quality of the transmitted data based on the evaluation of the quality parameter of the transmitted data; and

record the transmitted data or select another data for recording based on the determined level of quality of the transmitted data.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the first controller is operable to initiate recording of the transmitted data on the first vehicle.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the second controller is operable to avoid recording other data based on the evaluation of the transmitted data.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the data storage device is a remotely located data storage device.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the data storage device is associated with a second vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the second vehicle being coupled to the first vehicle in the train or the consist.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein recording the transmitted data or selecting another data based on the evaluation includes:

recording the transmitted data on the data storage device when the quality parameter of the transmitted data is above a threshold; and

recording native data captured by a second data capture device associated with the second vehicle when the quality parameter of the transmitted data is below the threshold.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the quality parameter evaluated includes a file size variation and/or a frame variation of the transmitted data over a duration.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the duration is based at least in part on an operating parameter of the vehicle group.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the operating parameter includes vehicle speed.